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The costs of being a non-native English speaker in science

Article published in PLOS Biology by Tatsuya Amano et al. with quantitative and qualitative data showing the many hurdles non-native English speakers face.

Published : 18/07/2023

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“Unlocking the potential of disadvantaged communities is one of the urgent challenges in science. Collaboration involving a diverse group of people can better solve problems and deliver higher levels of, and more relevant, scientific innovation and impacts. Today, the need to tap into a diversity of people, views, knowledge systems, and solutions in order to successfully address global challenges, such as the biodiversity and climate crises, is being increasingly recognised, and there is a critical need to do so across multiple disciplines.” The opening paragraph of the article.

Citation: Amano T, Ramírez-Castañeda V, Berdejo-Espinola V, Borokini I, Chowdhury S, Golivets M, et al. (2023) The manifold costs of being a non-native English speaker in science. PLoS Biol 21(7): e3002184. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002184

The study found:

  • Researchers from countries with low levels of English proficiency spent a median of 91% more time to read an English-language paper. But when they’re reading a paper in their own language they took less time than a native English speaker took to read a paper in English. 
  • Early-career non-native English researchers also take more time writing a paper in English. 
  • Non-native English speakers requirement more effort to proofread papers, and ask someone to proofread their English an average of 75% or more of their papers. 
  • The study found that researchers coming from a country with moderate English proficiency (e.g. Spain) tended to ask someone to proofread as a favour. Those from a country with high income but low English proficiency (e.g. Japan), tended to pay for an English editing service. Those from low income and low English proficiency (e.g. Bangladesh),  tended not to ask as a favour or use a paid for service. The authors suggest this may be due to a lack of funding. 
  • Non-native English speakers are more likely to have their papers rejected by journals due to the English writing and more likely to be asked to improve their English in paper revision. 42% report they’re often requested to do this.
  • “30% of the early-career (defined as those who have published 5 or fewer English-language papers) non-native English speakers of high income nationalities (i.e., Japanese and Spanish combined) report that they often or always decide not to attend an English-language conference due to language barriers.” 
  • Non-native English speakers at conferences spend a median of 93% more time preparing an oral presentation. Over 65% of early-career non-native English speakers from countries with low proficiency (e.g. Japan, Bangladesh) “reporting that they often or always find it difficult to explain their work confidently in English.”
  • “[W]e did not quantify the immense mental stress associated with all the extra time, cost, effort, and lost opportunities caused by language barriers, which could further exacerbate the already high risk of mental health issues in students and early-career researchers.”

Graphic showing barriers

Visit the article to view and download this useful graphic depicting the extra hurdles facing the non-native English speaker (the yellow figure).

 

Abstract

The use of English as the common language of science represents a major impediment to maximising the contribution of non-native English speakers to science. Yet few studies have quantified the consequences of language barriers on the career development of researchers who are non-native English speakers. By surveying 908 researchers in environmental sciences, this study estimates and compares the amount of effort required to conduct scientific activities in English between researchers from different countries and, thus, different linguistic and economic backgrounds. Our survey demonstrates that non-native English speakers, especially early in their careers, spend more effort than native English speakers in conducting scientific activities, from reading and writing papers and preparing presentations in English, to disseminating research in multiple languages. Language barriers can also cause them not to attend, or give oral presentations at, international conferences conducted in English. We urge scientific communities to recognise and tackle these disadvantages to release the untapped potential of non-native English speakers in science. This study also proposes potential solutions that can be implemented today by individuals, institutions, journals, funders, and conferences.

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Take action

 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3002184.g006 

The authors argue that immediate action should be taken to address many of the points they raise. “A key aspect of those solutions is to embrace linguistic diversity in science and encourage the multilingualization of science and its communication, as this can help to improve equity, diversity, and inclusiveness in science.” Emerging artificial intelligence tools are expected to help (the article was in development in late 2022), however there’s still much that can be done? The authors have produced a table, which can be conveniently downloaded as a PPT (for PowerPoints), PNG or TIFF. It lists what supervisors/collaborators, institutions, journals, funders and conferences can do regarding paper reading, paper writing/publication, dissemination, and conference participation. 

 

Other resources

EDICa hosts a regular blog and seminars, as well as collecting a library of resources of equality, diversity & inclusion practices in research & innovation.

Click here for more resources
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Dr Jenny Douglas is passionate about the health and wellbeing of black women as evidenced through her research and public engagement. She has a PhD in Women’s Studies and completed her doctoral thesis on cigarette smoking and identity among African-Caribbean young women in contemporary British society. This research brought together two divergent research traditions: medical public health and health promotion approaches with sociological approaches to researching cigarette smoking. This interdisciplinary research approach brings together sociology, public health and women’s studies. Her commitment to comparative approaches finds expression not only in working across disciplinary and national boundaries, but also across theoretical and methodological traditions. Her research is both varied and wide ranging spanning 30 years on issues of race, health, gender and ethnicity. The key theme unifying her research and activism is intersectionality – exploring how ‘race’, class and gender affect particular aspects of African – Caribbean women’s health.

Jenny Douglas established and chairs the Black Women’s Health and Wellbeing Research Network. (www.open.ac.uk/black-womens-health-and-wellbeing) and her ambition is to establish a research institute on the health and wellbeing of black women. She is a contributing author to ‘Inside the Ivory Tower’.

Jenny Douglas is a Senior Lecturer in Health Promotion in the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies at the Open University. She has a PhD in Women’s Studies from the University of York, an MA in Sociological Research in Health Care from the University of Warwick, an MSc in Environmental Pollution Control from the University of Leeds and a BSc (Hons) in Microbiology and Virology from the University of Warwick. She is module lead of the K311 – ‘Promoting Public Health’, is an honorary member of the Faculty of Public Health and is a director of the UK Public Health Register.

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Reader in Electronic Music and Sound Design at Keel University

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Dr Blackburn has held academic posts at Liverpool Hope University, The Open University and Keele University.

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Heriot-Watt University

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Rebecca Kennedy applied for EDICa’s paid internship aimed at giving the opportunity to people from under-represented backgrounds a chance to experience a research career.

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Northumbria University

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The other half of her time is spent at Northumbria University as a lecturer in International Business.

Her research interests include mediation in intercultural workplaces as well as the maintenance, identification and overcoming of bias at work.

She was previously a Lecturer in Intercultural Communication in the School of Languages and Applied Linguistics at the Open University. She was awarded a PhD in Management and Business and Applied Linguistics by Newcastle University in 2020, and has since studied the role of intercultural (communicative) competence in professional settings. She was a Research Associate for the Erasmus + funded project “Critical Skills for Life and Work: Developing the Professional Intercultural Communicative Competence of Highly-Skilled Refugees’ and currently creates short courses on intercultural competences for a range of workplace settings for the Open Centre for Languages and Cultures.

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Dr Jos Collins

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Heriot-Watt University

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Jos Collins’ PhD thesis – Living Tradition and Cultural Revival: Scottish Folk Drama in the 21st Century –  results from a partnership between the Intercultural Research Centre (Heriot-Watt University), Celtic and Scottish Studies (University of Edinburgh) and Traditional Arts and Culture Scotland (TRACS, Scottish Storytelling Centre). It examines the reasons behind the resurgence of interest in this old art form and folk custom and its cultural implications. It seeks to investigate the motivations for participants and what these can tell us about modern attitudes to concepts like tradition and authenticity. The main aim of the project is to explore the place of revived folk drama in contemporary Scottish society through the following objectives: to produce a survey of Scottish folk drama activities today; to examine community-led performances and related activities ethnographically; to evaluate the motivations and aspirations of participants and organisers and to assess their contribution to aspects of local identity, ideas of tradition, and community dynamics; to investigate how folk drama as a living practice contributes to developing conceptualisations of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Scotland; and to contribute to the newly emerging ‘Creative Ethnology’ movement led by the three institutions involved.

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Dr Siddhartha Saxena

Postdoctoral Research Associate

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Siddhartha Saxena earned his PhD in 2020 focusing on the Study of Gender-Role Congruity in Family Businesses. Prior to joining EDICa, he spent six years as the Program Chair for the Bachelor of Business Administration Program and an Assistant Professor at Ahmedabad University in India. There he contributed to teaching, research and administrative functions, specialising in designing and delivering courses in the domains of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. His industry expertise lies in Management Development Programs, PDWs, training and interventions, analyzing and executing 360-degree feedbacks, CPI analysis and CVF framework implementation.

He was honored as a Fetzer MSR Scholar in 2022 and Erasmus+ Scholar in 2023. He has also completed the Global Faculty Development Program at the Wharton School.

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Dr Cat Morgan

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Heriot-Watt University

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Cat Morgan’s research and teaching interests are at the intersection of gender, digital technologies and political science. She is particularly interested in how digital technologies are used by those who are marginalised to raise awareness, speak out and create policy changes.

She holds a PhD and MSc in Web Science and Politics from the University of Southampton, and a MA in Gender, Sexuality and Culture from Birkbeck College.

Her recent projects have included:

  • Enabling Neurodiverse Science Careers (NERC funded) at Heriot-Watt University
  • Who is Watching Westminster? (Leverhulme Trust funded) at Birkbeck College
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Chiara Cocco

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Heriot-Watt University

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Chiara holds an MSc in Cultural Resource Management from Heriot-Watt University and she has recently submitted her PhD thesis on performance and experience in the Festival of Sant’Efisio in Sardinia, her home country. 

Chiara has been engaging with EDI issues for over a decade, as she worked in schools supporting disabled and d/Deaf students. She holds 3rd level certificates both in Italian Sign Language (LIS) and British Sign Language (BSL). 

Her role in the caucus is to explore the relationships between life events and career, by focusing on menstrual health and (peri)menopause in the workplace. Her main concern is to address barriers to inclusion, development, and progression for those who experience problematic menstruation and (peri)menopause in research and innovation careers. Her research interests and expertise also lie in ethnographic methods, particularly autoethnography.  Her own experience as a menstruating researcher with caring responsibilities informs her current work with EDICa and drives her commitment to improve inclusion and enable fulfilling and accessible careers for all.

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Prof Diane Gyi

Professor of Applied Ergonomics and Design
Loughborough University

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Professor Diane Gyi’s healthcare background and knowledge of theory and practice has enabled her to champion design ergonomics, to achieve comfortable, effective and healthy design solutions. Technological advances means that people are no longer tied to their desks, chairs, vehicles and workstations (with obvious health benefits) – this provides an opportunity to innovate and ensure that design reflects complex systems and the changing ways people live and work.

Applications of her research have covered topics as diverse as autonomous vehicle interiors, automotive seating innovations, healthy ageing at work, the older driver experience, and inclusive/accessible transport design.

She is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (CIEHF) and a Member of CIEHF Professional Affairs Board.

She is also a reviewer for several international journals (e.g. Ergonomics, Design Journal) and has been invited to serve on advisory/scientific committees for international conferences and continues to review research grants for research bodies including the British Council and the Swedish Knowledge Foundation.

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Prof Jason Arday

Professor of Sociology of Education 

University of Cambridge

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Professor Arday is the 2002 Professorial Chair in the Sociology of Education at the University of Cambridge, Faculty of Education. Previously, Jason was Professor of Sociology of Education at the University of Glasgow in the School of Education, College of Social Sciences.

Professor Arday has also held the position of Associate Professor in Sociology at Durham University in the Department of Sociology and Deputy Executive Dean for People and Culture in the Faculty of Social Science and Health. He is a Visiting Professor at The Ohio State University in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, University of Glasgow in the School of Education and an Honorary Professor at Durham University in the Department of Sociology.

He is a Trustee of the Runnymede Trust, the UK’s leading Race Equality Thinktank and the British Sociological Association (BSA). Jason sits on the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (CLASS) National Advisory Panel, the NHS Race and Health Observatory Academic Reference Group and the ITV Cultural Advisory Council.

Professor Arday’s research focuses on the areas of race and higher education, intersectionality and education, mental health and education, neurodiversity and cultural studies.

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Assoc Prof Mata Ayoub

School Director of Learning & Teaching for the School of Creative and Cultural Studies
Kingston University London

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Mata Ayoub completed her BA (Hons) in Media and Cultural Studies with Film, and then went on to study an MA in Education where she focused on Autism Spectrum Difference. She worked at WAC Performing Arts School for many years with young people with special needs, where she used Filmmaking to offer an alternative approach to learning and teaching. 

Mata is chair of the Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME)/People of Colour (PoC) Staff Network at Kingston University London, one of the most influence BAME/POC networks of any university. 

Her research interests include:

  • How to manage courageous conversations about race and characteristics in relation to the Equality Act 2010
  • Creating a KU Journal ‘Diversity in the Academy’.
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder.
  • Filmmaking approach as an alternative method for learning and teaching.
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Prof Jemina Napier

Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management
Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University

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Nima is an Assistant Professor in HRM and a member of HRM and Law Group at Edinburgh Business School. Nima’s primary research interests are in Human Resource Management and Organisational Behaviour. In her research, she focuses on workplace commitment, organisational socialisation, perceptions of fit, psychological contract, and professional services firms. She is interested in studying different contemporary work contexts such as cross-boundary and temporary work settings, which is particularly relevant to the Future of Work. She also keens to engage in research on different topics such as identity, engagement, career, knowledge management, HRM practices, and qualitative research methods.

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Dr Marion Hersh

Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Engineering

University of Glasgow

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Marion Hersh has an interdisciplinary background with a first degree in mathematics from the University of Cambridge and a control engineering PhD from UMIST. Their main area of work is assistive technology, with related work in design for all and employment for disabled people.

Particular projects include travel technology for blind people, communication devices for deafblind people, accessibility and usability of educational games, learning support technology for students with mathematics learning difficulties and subtitles showing emotional and contextual features. They also work on technology and ethics and is convenor of the International Federation of Automatic Control Working Group on Ethics.

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Dr Will Stronge

Workstream 3 Deputy Lead

Co-Founder and Director of the Autonomy Institute

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Will is Autonomy’s Director. He holds a PhD in Politics and Philosophy from the University of Brighton and with Helen Hester is currently writing Post-work (Bloomsbury 2024).

The Autonomy Institute is an independent, progressive research organisation that creates data-driven tools and research to strengthen democracy and build a fairer economy.

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Prof Nilay Shah

Professor of Process Systems Engineering,
Head of Department of Chemical Engineering
Imperial College London

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Nilay Shah’s research interests include the application of process modelling and mathematical/systems engineering techniques to analyse and optimise complex process and energy systems and their associated supply chains, with a particular interest in clean energy, biorenewables and bioprocessing, including synthetic biology.

He also works on the application of model-based methods for plant safety assessment and risk analysis. He has published widely in these areas and is particularly interested in the transfer of technology from academia to industry. He has provided consultancy services on systems optimisation to a large number of process industry companies.

Nilay Shah is the Director of the Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE) and co-director of the Industrial Biotechnolgy Hub at Imperial.

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Prof Raffaella Ocone

Professor of Chemical Engineering
Heriot-Watt University

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Raffaella Ocone OBE FRSE FREng is Professor of Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering. In 2006 she was awarded the title Cavaliere of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and in the 2019 New Year Honours she was appointed OBE.
She has been Professor of Chemical Engineering at Heriot-Watt University since 1999, and she was the first female professor of chemical engineering in Scotland. In 2003 she became a Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council. She is also a Chartered Scientist with the Science Council.

Her research is in the field of modelling of complex reactive systems, for which she has been internationally recognised, including election as Fellow to a number of Royal Societies. Her work has application to the design and operation of industrial systems involving material flow. In 2013 Ocone was elected a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, which she described as “the greatest accolade for an engineer”. She is an authority on complex reactive systems, and her research has been applied to the development of carbon capture and storage technologies. She co-authored at Royal Academy of Engineering report, funded by the UK government, on the biofuels industry.


She has an interest in ethics and engineering, and chaired the Royal Academy of Engineering’s Teaching Ethics group.

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Dr Clayton Magill

EDICa Neurodiversity Champion

Assoc. Professor in Biogeochemistry at the Lyell Centre for Earth & Marine Science & Technology, Heriot-Watt University

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Clay Magill’s joined the Lyell Centre for Earth & Marine Science & Technology at Heriot-Watt University in 2016.

Clay completed his MPhil at University of Cambridge and two PhDs at The Pennsylvania State University, in Geosciences and Biogeochemistry.

His research characterizes molecular and isotopic compositions of sedimentary organic matter as a tool for reconstructing ancient environmental conditions.  His current projects utilize carbon and deuterium signatures of biomarkers – the molecular remains of algae and plants – to trace hydroclimate and ecosystem fragmentation in eastern Africa during major junctures in human evolution, ca. 6-to-1 million years ago.  

Clay has a passion for EDI and was a co-investigator on a predecessor project of EDICa – EnDISC (Enabling NeuroDiverse Inclusive Science Careers), funded by NERC and led by Prof Kate Sang.

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Dr James Richards

EDICa Workstream 3 Lead

Professor in Employment Relations, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University

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James Richards is a long-term Academic Member of the CIPD, a Fellow of the HE Academy, and member of BAM, BSA and BUIRA.

He recently became Co-Director of Engagement within the School of Social Sciences at Heriot-Watt University – key aspects of this role include building a culture of engagement across the School, and preparing the School for the impact element of REF2029. James is also the deputy director of the Centre for the Transformation of Work.

His teaching role involves co-ordination of courses on Employment Relations, and Sustainable Human Resource Management.

He previously served (2012-2022) as Research Ethics Officer in the School of Social Sciences, Chairing the University’s Research Ethics Committee.

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Prof Robert MacIntosh

EDICa Workstream 2 Lead

Pro Vice-Chancellor – Research and Innovation at University of West of Scotland, and Interim Deputy Vice-Chancellor

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Professor Robert MacIntosh trained as an engineer and is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Academy of Social Sciences and the British Academy of Management. He has published over 100 outputs including books on strategy, organisational change and research impact. His background reflects a long-standing interest in multidisciplinary research that makes a difference in the world. He is an advocate of the transformative power of universities both in their learning and teaching and in their research and knowledge exchange.

He has held leadership roles in business schools at Strathclyde, Glasgow, Heriot-Watt, Northumbria, and is currently Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation at the University of the West of Scotland. He is also Chair of the Chartered Association of Business Schools and sits on the Council of the British Academy of Management.

He has extensive experience working with, facilitating and researching strategy in a range of publicly traded firms, large public organisations and third sector organisations and has supervised a number of senior leaders from the US, Canada, Europe and the UK to doctoral completion.

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Prof Kate Sang

EDICa Principal Investigator & Workstream 1 Lead

Professor of Gender & Employment Studies, Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University

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Kate Sang is a Professor of Gender and Employment Studies, specialising in research which aims to improve marginalized people’s careers, with a particular interest in women and disabled people’s careers. Kate’s research is underpinned by an intersectional approach, recognising that our experiences of employment are informed by intersecting structural and cultural inequalities. Kate has expertise in participatory action research, working with research end-users to create workplace interventions which reflect the needs and experiences of organizational stakeholders, including employees, trade unions, employers and policy makers.

More recently, Kate’s research has explored gynaecological health at work, disability inclusive science careers and migrants’ experiences of employment. Kate is interested in the role of technology, including virtual reality, in fostering more inclusive workplaces. Kate is also pursuing research which works to embed the needs of women and disabled people in environmental measures.

Kate is the director for the Centre for the Transformation of Work – an interdisciplinary research centre based at Heriot-Watt University.